FDA and MasterCard Merchant Approval

[insert_namehere]

Here's an interesting wrinkle in the whole e-cig kartuffle. We received this from the Merchant service account we've been trying to set up in order to offer folks and alternative to PayPal:

"Denial of application is based on the following:
Based on the Federal Government's classification of the device as a "drug delivery system" this would be prohibited. The FDA is currently considering e-cigarettes as "drug delivery devices" and has halted 17 shipments from coming into the country since March 1st. Currently MasterCard is not willing to give us a variance on accepting this type of merchant until the Federal Government will lift their restrictions on this product, at that time we can resubmit the application for further review."

Where this is going or how it will shake out eventually I have no idea - but in all my life I have never encountered as many problems trying to do what I consider a "good thing" as I have with personal vaporizers or whatever the community can call them to get some of the smear off this product.

We'll keep selling and keep on looking for a logical alternative to Paypal, but I thought I'd pass this on to illustrate HOW many areas there seem to be restrictions to purchase PVs.

Tom - Your pal at vapour warehouse

 

[ccure]

Well, if Mastercard is not allowing E-cigs, soon PayPal with not allow them also. This is not a good news.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Bad news indeed. Shame on MasterCard for taking that position. I don't see them denying service to vendors of products that are proven hazardous. It's a pathetic double standard being driven exclusively by the anti-smoking culture war.

 

[imsewsure]

This really does stink, horribly.

 

[imsewsure]

AND...you can certainly buy syringes from companies which could definitely be considered a "drug delivery system"

 

[Ryle]

Bad news indeed. Shame on MasterCard for taking that position. I don't see them denying service to vendors of products that are proven hazardous. It's a pathetic double standard being driven exclusively by the anti-smoking culture war.

I work in the merchant services industry.. It's not MasterCard (or visa) sending that in.. the person who messaged the supplier back sort of..stretched.. the truth... It's the risk associated with what that processor BELIEVES the e-cig industry is....There are other options and there are LEGITIMATE ways around these things.. any supplier wanting more information is welcome to PM me directly..... (wouldn't want a moderator thinking I'm on the forum for business purposes)

 

[nitewriter]

I think we should start boycotting companies that show their double standards towards e-cigs.

I no longer use Ebay for this reason.

 

[Oliver]

Extremely bad news. Has anyone tried Visa as a payment provider yet?

 

[Sun Vaporer]

Does not surprize me in the least. Be it the Shippers, Ebay, or the Merchant Payment Services-------they all are not going to want to be involved in or risk their business over the "drop in the sea market" of e-cigs IMO-------Sun

 

[irefuse2]

Since paypal is anti-gun and shuts down people selling firearm related material all the time most of us that deal in that trade use gearpay just a thought

 

[TheKingOfKool]

I used to bet on football games through an on-line sportsbook. Charge cards will not accept payment going to gambling sites as that is illegal. The way around it was you had to go to western union and wire the money to them under somebodys name. If paypal should decide to stop payments to the suppliers you can always wire the money to them.

 

[Vista Chris]

Fact is most (probably all) merchant accounts consider the e-cig business "high risk", making them difficult to obtain.

It's not impossible, though. Keep trying.

 

[Ryle]

Fact is most (probably all) merchant accounts consider the e-cig business "high risk", making them difficult to obtain.

It's not impossible, though. Keep trying.

you make us sound like such bad people ... like anything else.. it's all about who you know

 

[Hangar]

Here's an interesting wrinkle in the whole e-cig kartuffle. We received this from the Merchant service account we've been trying to set up in order to offer folks and alternative to PayPal:

"Denial of application is based on the following:
Based on the Federal Government's classification of the device as a "drug delivery system" this would be prohibited. The FDA is currently considering e-cigarettes as "drug delivery devices" and has halted 17 shipments from coming into the country since March 1st. Currently MasterCard is not willing to give us a variance on accepting this type of merchant until the Federal Government will lift their restrictions on this product, at that time we can resubmit the application for further review."

Where this is going or how it will shake out eventually I have no idea - but in all my life I have never encountered as many problems trying to do what I consider a "good thing" as I have with personal vaporizers or whatever the community can call them to get some of the smear off this product.

We'll keep selling and keep on looking for a logical alternative to Paypal, but I thought I'd pass this on to illustrate HOW many areas there seem to be restrictions to purchase PVs.

Tom - Your pal at vapour warehouse

were you applying directly to the bank for this new merchant account (in which case im assuming the response you got was sent back to you from that bank) OR were you merely applying to have someone elses merchant account process your orders for you? (which is just a processing company offering you their services)

 

[OutWest]

Extremely bad news. Has anyone tried Visa as a payment provider yet?

In many countries the merchants accounts for Visa and Mastercard are handled seperately; however, in the U.S. the two are handled under the same merchant account.

 

[yulfrid8]

We always can send personal checks if stores agree to accept them. It is a hassle to wait until it clears and so on but....

 

[insert_namehere]

were you applying directly to the bank for this new merchant account (in which case im assuming the response you got was sent back to you from that bank) OR were you merely applying to have someone elses merchant account process your orders for you? (which is just a processing company offering you their services)

Actually, we were applying though a Gateway provider, so that the SSL and secure processing could be in place as quickly as possible.

Thanks to posting this initial story, I've gotten some feelers from folks, so I've contact these people and see if we can't get things ramped up.

I understand some people's reticence to use PayPal, so - yah - we're gonna get SOMETHING in place to make life easier for our customers.

Face it, it seems like MOST of the world wants to make life more difficult so we got to hang together!

 

[Mac]

We accept mastercard..

 

[Vista Chris]

you make us sound like such bad people ... like anything else.. it's all about who you know

Why does doing smart business make you a bad person? Ecig business is considered high risk... because it is.

I was trying to encourage the OP to keep trying, not trying to knock you

And yes, knowing people does help, but even without, there are tons of merchants willing to accept ecig businesses. Go with one that's at least decent and as this industry grows, more will open up to the idea.

Good luck.

 

[StudioKraft]

I don't know if it is related, but I remember when I used to order analogs from an Indian Reservation, I received notification from them that they had lost their ability to process credit cards. They had to send out letters to all of their customers, hat in hand, and request that we send them checks for our orders, thereby eliminating any speed advantage of online ordering.

The reservation that I ordered from was not the only one affected - it appeared that all reservations selling tobacco online had the ability to process credit cards revoked.

I remember at the time thinking that it was an underhanded and backdoor way for government to remove the "menace" of tax-free reservation cigarettes, by asking the credit card companies to not allow processing for their business models. Is the same happening for e-cigs?